Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Boosts Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 77.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,361 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 957.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG increased its stake in Paychex by 2,669.2% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $115.48 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $148.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $102.55 and its 200 day moving average is $98.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.